In a case of much ado about nothing, Alanis Morissette's record label has agreed with MP3.com on just one thing -- a tour sponsorship.
Warner Brothers has decided to make one of the artist's unreleased live songs available over the Web. But it will be in a streamed file format -- a la RealNetwork -- that cannot easily be copied or redistributed.
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For weeks, rumors and news reports have circulated that Morissette would make a downloadable MP3 file available on MP3.com.
Maverick Recording has not announced which formats will be used to stream the file, but it may not involve MP3 at all. The file may not even be posted on MP3.com, according to Heidi Ellen Robinson, a spokeswoman for Maverick.
"[Where the song will be posted is] still being worked out ... it could be a neutral site," she said. In either case, beginning in another next week or two, fans will have to log onto a site to hear the song.
"Maverick, MP3.com, and I approached this with an open mind, which is what I believe is required whenever there is a shift or an evolution in technology or otherwise," Morissette said in a statement. "I am happy to have the opportunity to connect directly with people who listen to my music and I am excited about the unlimited possibilities the Internet has to offer the artistic community."
Maverick is owned by Warner Brothers Records, which has a rule preventing artists from distributing music over the Internet beyond 30-second streams. "Obviously, they stretched it a bit," said Robinson.
Tuesday's announcement appears to be another near-miss for MP3.com, which has tried to get the recording industry to throw it a bone by releasing a major artist's song in the MP3 format.
In March, Tom Petty released a song from his Echo album -- "Free Girl Now" -- on MP3.com. But the MP3 file was taken down after two days because Warner Brothers had not approved the promotion. The song was downloaded more than 150,000 times before it was removed, however.
Robinson said that the company has not taken a stake in MP3.com as part of the deal. She was unable to say whether Morrisette would receive shares in the company.
MP3.com and Best Buy have announced plans to sponsor Morissette's upcoming tour.
